The value and weight of exports of textile products, garments, leather products, shoes, and carpet reached $1.5 billion and 212,000 tons respectively during the last Iranian year (ended March 20), said head of Textile Industries and Garment Office of Ministry of Industries, Mines, and Commerce.
Nematollah Mardani added that the figure has growth by 29.7 and 1.4 percent in terms of weight and value respectively, Mehr News Agency reported.
Currently, close to 9,700 industrial units--accounting for 11 percent of the whole industry--have operating license, he said.
He put the value of textile products at over $4 billion, adding the share of value-added of textile sector accounts for three percent of the whole industry.
Mardani put the average investment made in textile sector at 75 trillion rials per year. Textile industry has generated 297,000 direct jobs, he added.
Production of commodities relating to textile industries grew last year, he said. “Production of polyester tops has seen a growth of 9.9 percent, polyester yarn has grown by 3.2 percent, and synthetic yarns went up by 10.2 percent. Also, production of footwear grew by 3.8 percent and leather products rose by 3.1 percent.”
Also, the weight of exports of leather products grew by 10.3 percent, footwear: 12.4 percent, yarns: 65 percent, textiles: 4.9 percent, synthetic yarns: 177 percent, blanket: 61.6 percent, machine-made carpet and mouquette: 20.3 percent, he said.
He recalled that last year, close to 472,000 tons of commodities worth over $1.285 billion were imported. Half of the imports pertain to raw materials required by production units such as synthetic yarns like Acrylic and natural yarns like cotton, he pointed out.

Efforts to Enhance Trade With S. Korea

Translated by Leila Imani

The potential of Iran and South Korea should be used to enhance trade ties between the two countries, said head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) Hamid Safdel.
Speaking in a meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Tehran Sung Wung-Yeub, he said that Iran attaches great importance to the interests of all countries, IRNA reported.
Referring to the experiences and potential of South Korea he said that this can be used to enhance bilateral commercial ties.
The official said that Iran is prepared to develop relations with South Korea, noting exchanging commercial delegations should be developed with the active participation of the private sector. Safdel noted that condition is prepared for private sector to develop cooperation with South Korea in six free trade and 19 special economic zones.
Safdel further stated that Iran’s trade with Turkey, India, China and European countries has increased in recent years.
Trade transactions between Iran and South Korea reached $2.6 billion in 2012.

Iranians Top Saffron Consumers

Domestic Economy Desk

Iran is top saffron consumer worldwide with per capita consumption of 0.5 gram per year, said head of National Saffron Council.
Ali Hosseini told ISNA that close to 300 tons of saffron is consumed worldwide per year, adding Iran--with a population of 75 million--consumes 40 tons of this red spice annually.
Top saffron consumers include Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and Middle East nations such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Oman, he said.
Iran has lost American consumption market due to sanctions, he mentioned, adding Iranian saffron reaches US market via Spain and Italy.
After Iran, US is the second per capita saffron consumer with total annual consumption of 50 tons, he said. But Arabic and African nations such as Egypt and Ghana have a meager share in saffron consumption, he added.
Iran, the largest saffron producer in the world, exports the spice to 46 countries including the European and the Persian Gulf littoral states.
Due to its diverse climate and fertile soil, Iran’s agriculture products are rated among the best in the world with its saffron standing second to none.
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus.
Some 300 tons of dried whole threads and powder are gleaned yearly, of which 50 tons is top-grade ‘coupe’ saffron.
Iran, with its cultivation of different varieties, is the largest producer of saffron with around 90-93 percent of the world’s total production.
Saffron has a long medicinal history as part of traditional healing. Several modern research studies have also hinted that the spice has possible anti-carcinogenic (cancer-suppressing), anti-mutagenic (mutation-preventing), immunomodulating, and antioxidant-like properties.

Hormuzgan Fishing Ports To Be Privatized

Domestic Economy Desk

Over 10 out of 22 fishing ports of Hormuzgan province have been ceded to the non-governmental sector, said deputy head of Hormuzgan Fisheries Department.
Abdolmajid Maqsoodi added that close to 10,000 fishermen tap the ports’ potentials using 390 vessels and 900 boats, Young Journalist Club wrote.\
He said more fishing ports of the province would be ceded to the private sector in near future.
The first vice-president said last November that some 60 multipurpose ports have been built by Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran (PMO) across the country in recent years.
Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Iran, as a county which has large coastal areas in the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman and Caspian Sea, enjoys high potentials in transit sector.
He put the current transit capacity at 20 million tons, adding the figure should rise to 50 million tons.
Rahimi also said seas and coastal areas are considered as the linking bridges which connect various countries to each other, adding Iran is a marine country with 5,800 kilometers of coastlines. “This potential should be used in the best possible manner.”
He added that developing the tourism sector, supplying fuels to vessels and performing activities related to marine industries are among the positive aspects of using the capabilities of ports and marine structure.
Referring to Vision 1404 and the high status of Iran in the region, he said, “PMO should make efforts to develop and equip the country’s commercial ports.”
He said fruitful steps have been taken to develop coastlines and ports during the tenure of the past and present governments but there is still a long way to go in this respect.

President to Inaugurate Synthetic Fiber Production Units

Translated by Farzam Vanaki

Today, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will inaugurate 2 synthetic fiber production units in Delijan in Markazi province.
Head of the provincial Industries, Mines and Trade Organization, Alireza Zavoshi, said on Saturday that Savis Textile Company, which will be inaugurated by President Ahmadinejad, will produce polyester staple fibers, IRNA reported.
He added that 450 billion rials have been invested in constructing and equipping this production unit.
“Some €4 million have also been spent on buying and installing the machineries.”
He put the company’s production capacity at 50,000 tons of fibers per year, adding, “Once the unit is launched, 150 jobs will be created.”
The company was built on an area of 47,000 square meters. Its products will be used in cotton spinning mills and units involved in the production of synthetic, cotton polyester and viscose fibers.
Zavoshi noted the second unit which will be inaugurated by Ahmadinejad is Sayna-ye Delijan Company which will produce non-woven sheets from glass fibers.
He said the production capacity of the unit will amount to 6,500 tons per year.
This unit was constructed on an area of 18,646 square meters, he said, adding, “Some €10 million, 100 billion rials from domestic resources and 60 billion rials were invested to buy industrial machineries and equipment and establish structures and installments, respectively.”
“With the inauguration of this unit, 219 jobs will be generated in the province.”

China Imports of Iranian Crude Up 11%

China imported about 400,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran in the first four months of 2013, up 11 percent compared to the same period in 2012, a Reuters survey showed.
Three other major Asian buyers, namely India, Japan, and South Korea, reduced imports by 46 percent, 33 percent, and 28 percent, respectively.
Iran’s oil exports will average 1.38 million barrels a day in the current Iranian fiscal year starting March 21, 2013, the International Energy Agency estimates. That’s in line with the government’s budget expecting 1.3 million barrels a day.
Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said Iran has significantly developed its capacity to ship oil overseas despite US-led sanctions.
Refiners want to continue using Iranian crude in many of their plants are configured to process, as changes will need lengthy testing of new grades or cause an alteration in output.
Iran is planning to find buyers for its crude, with top Asian consumers cutting purchases as western sanction choke off trade with OPEC’s second-largest producer.
The US State Department on Wednesday renewed six-month waivers on Iran sanctions for China, India and seven other economies in exchange for agreeing to reduce purchases of oil from Iran.

9m Tons of Wheat Purchase Predicted

Domestic Economy Desk

Over 1.1 million tons of wheat have been purchased from farmers, said spokesman for Bank Sepah’s Guaranteed Purchase of Wheat.
Mohsen Daraei told Fars News Agency that the figure has increased by 15 percent compared with the corresponding figure of last year.
He predicted that between 7 and 9 million tons of wheat would be purchased this year.
“Over 8.1 trillion rials have been paid to the bank accounts of farmers as guaranteed purchase price,” he said.
Daraei explained that close to 174,600 consignments of wheat have been purchased from 178 centers across 15 provinces. The official listed the provinces that delivered wheat as follows: Isfahan, Ilam, Bushehr, South Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Fars, Qom, Kerman, Kermanshah, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, Lorestan, Hormuzgan and Golestan.
Agricultural Jihad Minister Sadeq Khalilian said in April that food security has the highest position in the country’s national security.
He recalled that over 13.5 million tons of wheat were produced in the country during the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2013).
“Thanks to the relentless efforts of managers and farmers,” he said, “the agriculture sector--with a growth rate of 8.8 percent and food security of 92 percent--ranks first in terms of production growth.”
Khalilian noted that the country hit a new record by producing 118 million tons of agricultural products last year.

Fishery Products Export

Iran exported 60,000 tons of fishery products worth of $250 million in the last Iranian year (ended March 20).